Join us for Café Scientifique

Interested in science? Want to learn more about the latest technology breakthroughs in normal English, minus the jargon? Then Café Scientifique Pittsburgh at Carnegie Science Center is the place to be!

Café Sci is THE place in Pittsburgh where anyone interested in science can get together at a scientific hub to discuss today's science issues with experts, and best of all... you can ask your own questions! After a brief talk by our monthly guest speaker, the evening is dedicated to a question-and-answer session. Plus, enjoy our pub-type atmosphere with food and drinks available for purchase.

Join us for Café Scientifique on Monday, Dec. 5.

Presenter:

Diane Turnshek

Lecturer, Author, & Astronomer

Light Up the Sky with Stars

How far do you have to travel to see the stars clearly? Join lecturer, author, and astronomer Diane Turnshek as she discusses how light pollution not only prevents us from living under a sky bright with stars, but also negatively impacts human health and the environment. Turnshek will examine how innovative science and technology can reverse this steady creep of sky glow, allowing us to view the same star-filled sky that all past generations did.

Diane Turnshek is a lecturer in the Department of Physics at Carnegie Mellon University and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Pittsburgh. She has published hard science fiction with a focus on space colonization and first contact. Her love of both astronomy and science fiction led her to crew the Mars Desert Research Station near Bryce Canyon, Utah in 2012, where she turned her attention to dark sky advocacy. Her fight against light pollution has taken many forms, including giving a TEDxPittsburgh talk. Turnshek is also a 2015 Dark Sky Defender award recipient, recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association for her contribution to light pollution mitigation.

Time: Doors open at 6 pm, and the program is 7-9 pm.Location: Carnegie Science CenterAdmission: FREE!Parking: $5Cash bar: Open from 6-7:30 pm

NOTE: Click here to let us know you're coming, even if you don't plan to buy food.

A la carte menu:

Join us for Café Scientifique on Monday, Feb. 6.

Presenter:

Christopher Wilmer

Assistant Professor,
Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department,
University of Pittsburgh

Is Carbon Capture Realistic?

Join University of Pittsburgh professor Chris Wilmer for a discussion of the future of carbon capture technology. This very active area of engineering research explores the development of technologies that can be retrofit onto fossil fuel-based power plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Retrofitting thousands of coal power plants across the globe would be a massive undertaking, and researchers need to know how feasible such a project would be.

In his talk, Wilmer will consider this problem from the molecular scale and ask what the most efficient carbon capture membrane would look like, whether it can realistically help mitigate global warming, and how it compares to existing technologies.

Wilmer is an assistant professor in the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department at the University of Pittsburgh. His research focuses on the use of large-scale molecular simulations to help find promising materials for energy and environmental applications.

This event is part of the Strange Times series presented by:

Time: Doors open at 6 pm, and the program is 7-9 pm.Location: Carnegie Science CenterAdmission: FREE!Parking: $5Cash bar: Open from 6-7:30 pm

NOTE: Click here to let us know you're coming, even if you don't plan to buy food.